Jin Li inverted his posture, head down and feet up, spinning rapidly around his spine as though transforming into a whirlwind. He rotated in a spiral, aiming to drill through all obstacles and pierce any enemy.
This was one of his mastered external martial arts techniques. During his Tianren Jiaogan stage, it could punch an eight-chi-deep hole into solid earth with a single strike. Previously, a master of an unyielding body technique cultivated to the ninth aperture was also defeated by this move, his defense broken completely.
Now, using this technique at the half-external stage, Jin Li became even more terrifying. Layers of wind spiraled upwards, as if turning into a true natural disaster!
He felt neither sorrow nor anger, only a sense of exhilaration from giving his all. In his eyes, the mysterious figure wearing the “Yuanshi Tianzun” mask was clearly reflected.
However, as Meng Qi pushed forward with both palms, his fingers twisting and shifting in complex patterns, Jin Li’s perception suddenly changed. He seemed to see thick, solemn “golden lotuses” blooming before his eyes. The opponent’s aura became vast and mighty, like an immovable earth, impervious to even the fiercest attacks.
The previously disguised “Yuanshi Tianzun” now bore a hint of the real presence!
Before the palms arrived, the wind struck Meng Qi like a gust sweeping over land, barely stirring his robes.
Bang!
The spiraling force of Jin Li’s palms struck Meng Qi’s hands directly. Jin Li felt all his power transmitted through the “golden lotuses” conjured by Meng Qi, flowing into the floor and then into the earth itself. The force spread endlessly, dissipating so widely that it caused no tremor whatsoever!
What a powerful defensive technique!
Attacking him felt like attacking the entire earth!
At this moment, the “Yuanshi Tianzun” mask seemed infinitely magnified in Jin Li’s mind and heart, as if he were facing a physical manifestation of the Tianzun himself.
Yet Meng Qi was not as unshaken as he appeared. His internal energy churned violently, nearly causing him to vomit, and he had sustained minor internal injuries.
A normal half-external stage practitioner using an external technique could already deliver a strike close to full external power. Meng Qi had to use his treasure weapon and fully activate his techniques to block it unharmed. Fortunately, Jin Li had only recently entered the half-external stage, and the “Immovable Golden Lotus” derived from the “Wuji Seal” was indeed formidable in defense; otherwise, he would have been severely injured.
The moment Jin Li attacked, Meng Qi recognized his identity and thus chose not to evade, meeting the force head-on.
Jin Li had disappeared over three years ago, shortly after reaching Tianren Jiaogan. If he hadn’t rushed his breakthrough, unless he was also a cycle-walker, he could have only advanced recently, within the last year, and still at a novice level. If he had forcibly advanced early, becoming a half-external like the Snake King, Meng Qi would not fear him at all.
Precisely because he judged this, Meng Qi deliberately used the “Immovable Golden Lotus” to withstand Jin Li’s full strike, unwilling to lose the initiative.
Jin Li rebounded using the force, attempting to sense Meng Qi’s energy flow and muscle reactions, but felt only emptiness, as if returning to the very beginning.
Could he really be cultivating the “Yuanshi Golden Scripture”? As a scion of a prestigious family, he was quite familiar with the legends of the “Yuxu Kai Tian Gong.”
Suppressing his surging energy, Meng Qi activated his footwork, appearing to step in eight directions or tread the Nine Palaces. His palms and claws were ancient and mysterious, clashing fiercely with Jin Li without revealing his half-external cultivation level, seemingly holding his own.
Jin Li was secretly astonished. Where had this expert come from? No one in the martial world had ever been known to inherit Yuanshi Tianzun’s teachings!
He did not slacken at all, each palm strike forming spirals of force, generating the same violent winds, forcing Meng Qi to avoid direct palm clashes, relying instead on nimble footwork to evade. Yet the interference and intrusion of the winds had no effect on Meng Qi.
Both moved and struck with incredible speed, their power concentrated within a few feet radius. Qi Qi Shen Ruoxuan could not intervene, only watching from the sidelines. She seemed hesitant, not calling out for reinforcements.
Just then, perhaps disturbed by the commotion, the infant opened his eyes and cried loudly, sticking out his long, forked tongue like a snake’s!
A monster?
A half-demon!
Meng Qi caught this glimpse from the corner of his eye, and his mind buzzed with realization, connecting the dots.
No wonder the Shen family was so secretive and reclusive, even engaging in human trafficking—it must be connected to the demon race…
Why had Jin Li sensed this in advance and said those words to Lu Jian? Because he already knew Shen Ruoxuan’s true identity—a snake demon. And he had made up his mind: for Shen Ruoxuan, he would abandon his human identity, feign death, and join the demon race.
To prevent his family from endlessly grieving for him, he and Shen Ruoxuan crafted a fake corpse and left it at Chen Changgeng’s doorstep, knowing the timid Chen would dispose of it in a mass burial ground. Later, while a beggar was asleep, they would exhume the shallow grave, mutilate the body to mimic wild dog attacks, preserving only a few bones soaked in Jin Li’s blood. This way, when Jin’s family traced the clues to Wen’an with Lu Jian’s assistance, they would easily conclude he was already dead—with no leads pointing to the murderer…
Was the Jia family, allied with the Shen family through marriage, also problematic?
No wonder the graceful and elegant woman from earlier seemed so familiar—she was the little fox he had encountered in the Vast Sea, the one who had shouted, “Anyone who cultivates the Ananda’s Broken Precepts Blade Technique is a demon and deserves to be executed!”—the young master of Tianhaiyuan!
Why had she suddenly left Tianhaiyuan and come to Jiangdong?
How was Shen Ruoxuan, who had only opened seven apertures, able to perfectly conceal her demonic aura, making it impossible for Meng Qi to recognize her even when standing face to face?
All these thoughts flashed in an instant. Meng Qi had no time to admire his reasoning ability, only one thought growing louder in his mind:
“Oops! I’m about to be silenced!”
Smuggling humans within human territory to supply blood for the demon race—if exposed, the Six Ministries and the major clans of Jiangdong would undoubtedly dispatch external experts to eradicate them. Would the Shen family ever allow him to leave safely?
Wailing loudly, the infant first drew Shen Ruoxuan’s worried glance, then her killing intent flared. She opened her beautiful mouth and, rushing toward the child, shouted loudly for her father and elders to handle the aftermath, no longer hesitating because the opponent might be a relative or friend of Jin Li.
Jin Li’s aura surged again, his palm strikes now fiercer than before. The winds no longer restrained themselves, and the entire pavilion creaked ominously, on the verge of collapse.
He seemed to transform into the storm itself, fists and feet unceasing, shrouded in afterimages, determined to force Meng Qi to focus solely on stopping Shen Ruoxuan’s cries.
Suddenly, he saw “Yuanshi Tianzun” stepping forward instead of retreating. With a stride ahead, the right hand clenched into a fist, as if his essence, energy, spirit, and will had merged into one. The fist emitted a faint jade-like radiance, striking down with an indomitable force—impervious to evil qi and immune to any external energy intrusion!
Rather than being alarmed, Jin Li was secretly pleased. Attacking recklessly without the right opportunity would only lead to self-destruction.
He shifted his stance, creating a howling sound, dodging Meng Qi’s “Three Treasures Ruyi Fist” and striking the left chest from the side.
Just as his palm formed a spiral, the “Yuanshi Tianzun” before him, who had been swinging his fist with full force, moved even faster, twisting his body to change direction, rushing straight toward Shen Ruoxuan—the previous punch was like an illusion!
Was this a feint? That powerful, forceful punch was actually a feint?
Shen Ruoxuan was about to open her mouth when she suddenly saw the mysterious figure wearing the Yuanshi Tianzun mask charging toward her. Her left hand lifted, fingers spread wide, pressing downward from above.
The sky and earth darkened, the airflow collapsed inward. Her five fingers were white, slender, and elegant, the palm before her dim and shadowy, as if it could encompass the heavens and earth, causing them to collapse.
Faced with this palm strike, Shen Ruoxuan felt an overwhelming sense of the world shattering, nowhere to escape. Her mind was suppressed as she watched helplessly the ancient, powerful hand imprint itself on her forehead.
Jin Li’s expression changed drastically. He abandoned his attack on Meng Qi, waving both hands, his sleeves flaring, drawing in all the surrounding airflow.
Crack!
With the filling of airflows from other areas, a violent wind erupted, snapping beams and pillars, causing Shen Ruoxuan to stagger.
At the same time, he curled his fingers into a claw shape and unleashed his true energy from a distance, pulling Shen Ruoxuan through the air to evade Meng Qi’s Heaven-Overturning Seal.
Meng Qi’s left hand changed from a pressing motion to a pushing one, like a fish leaping from water, propelling his entire body out the window into the backyard, heading straight for the back gate.
This place was no longer suitable for staying!
Upon uncovering the secret of the demon clan, all he had done was to flee as swiftly as possible!
Was it still a feint? Jin Li was somewhat stunned.
Shen Ruoxuan, tense and excited, finally cried out:
“A secret has been discovered by an assassin!”
The back gate was not far from the Peony Pavilion. Meng Qi used the Eight-Nine Mystery to simulate the Wind Leg Technique’s true energy, moving as fast as the wind itself, quickly scaling the wall and rushing toward the nearby dense forest.
Shortly after entering the woods, Meng Qi suddenly shivered, feeling as if several venomous snakes hidden in the darkness were eyeing him!
He stepped with the Yu Xu Footwork, his movements illusory and devilish, constantly changing direction as he sprinted toward the Tianming Taoist Temple.
Wen’an was no small town, filled with half-external cultivators and even one or two true external experts. But currently, only the enigmatic Tianming Taoist was known, and he was near the temple!
Although he couldn’t see or sense his enemies, Meng Qi remained vigilant, sweat breaking out on his forehead. He moved in a zigzag pattern, not giving the demonic creatures behind him a chance to lock onto him with a long-range strike.
Fortunately, this was human territory, bound by many constraints. If the demon lord behind him had been as ruthless as Xi Yue Master, Meng Qi would have been in grave danger without the Blinding Leaf or the Cycle Talisman, and without deep water sources nearby.
It was the dead of winter, the trees leafless. Meng Qi felt real danger multiple times, just a glance causing his heart and spirit to tremble.
Fortunately, he had faced numerous perils before, even encountering external demonic tribes, yet never wavered. His vital energy remained at its peak, his position constantly shifting, unpredictable and erratic, leaving the demonic tribes behind him no chance to lock onto him.
Not knowing how long he had run, Meng Qi’s spirit gradually began to wane. After all, constantly changing his movements was extremely draining, not to mention the earlier battle.
Suddenly, the feeling of being watched by venomous snakes vanished. Meng Qi first froze, then realized he had escaped to the vicinity of the Tianming Temple. He heard a confused and perplexed voice in his ears: “How could there be five fates?”
Following the sound, Meng Qi saw the Tianming Taoist sitting cross-legged on the temple wall, deep in thought, having apparently pulled out countless strands of his beard, completely unaware of Meng Qi’s approach.
He quietly exhaled in relief, removed his mask, and slipped into the temple’s backyard.
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